3 Musketeers: Sword Art Online
by Author Autumn
Summary: Kirito made friends during the beta, and they meet up on the official release of Sword Art Online! Jokes, laughter, crushes, and fun for all, with some secrets. Who knew what you could do with friends at your side? Join Kirito, Takeo, and Kimi for the twists and turns of Sword Art Online!
1. The World of Swords pt1

Chapter 1

Kirito POV

I was not-so-patiently waiting for the clock on my NerveGear to say it was 13:00. Then I could finally log into Sword Art Online.

When the clock finally displayed the wanted time, I shouted "Link start!" and multi-colored cylinders flew by my face, almost kaleidoscope-like. When I logged in, I used the same character that I used when I beta-tested.

Appearing with a flash of blue light, I smirk. I blinked a few times, taking in all the colors ranging from leafy greens to the creamy tan of the stone in Town of Beginnings. Smirking, I quietly say, "I'm back… to this world!"

"Shady figure says what?" A voice said. I turned and saw a familiar face approaching me. Spiky white hair, purple eyes, and dressed in a grey tunic, white pants, and black boots.

"Who's the shady figure?" A female voice jumps in. Her purple braid bounced against her spine, her silver eyes shining with humor. Wearing a green knee-length dress and beige knee-high boots, she sauntered over to me.

"But come on, Kirito is wearing black, Kimi!" The male complains, giving an faux sigh of exasperation.

"Well, you're wearing gray, so you can't say anything Takeo," Kimi responds, placing her hands on her hips.

"Grey is a neutral color. And if we're judging people by the color of their outfit, you must be a very happy person," Takeo counters.

I laugh quietly. "It's nice to see you guys again," I say.

When I was beta testing, I met Takeo and Kimi. We got along well, none of us knowing the other in real life. When the testing ended, we promised to meet up again when SAO launched.

"Nice to see you too," Kimi answers. "How depressing was life without us?"

"Must have been pretty sad if you actually said you missed us," Takeo adds.

I don't say a word, and it settles us into a comfortable silence. Then I realize that none of us have weapons. "How about we go to the weapons shop for some pointy metal sticks?" Takeo asks.

"I was going to say something along those lines, so okay," I respond. While most people get used to their surroundings, the three of us sprint off to the weapons shop we found while beta-testing.

When we get inside, I go right over to the one-handed swords. I see a iron longsword within my price range, so I pay and equip it.

I turn to see Takeo testing out a iron lance before nodding and going up to the NPC to pay for it. Kimi is walking towards me, a iron rapier strapped to her hip. I sheath my sword on my back and Takeo does the same with his lance before we head out for some _serious_ grinding before all the monsters are whipped out.

We scamper through the streets, dodging the noobs and heading out to the Fields of Beginnings. Original, I know.

"Hey! You guys there!" A voice shouts. Takeo, Kimi, and I turn to see a man with a white tunic, brown pants and ankle-high boots running towards us. He also has a red bandana with yellow stripes running along the ends.

"Us?" I ask.

He stops and stoops over, panting. "From the looks of those confident strides, you guys are beta-testers? Or at least one of you." He asks.

"Of course we all were. What do you want?" Kimi asks, getting straight to the point.

"I just started this game. Mind showing me the basics?"

"Why not?" Takeo agrees. Kimi groans as the man grins.

"Names Klein. Nice to meet'cha." He tells us. Without anymore talking, we head out to kill some monsters and teach this guy how to fight.

* * *

"Aaand, nope. Congrats, you were just defeated by a pig," Takeo declared, clapping his hands as if he's impressed.

"Ain't that the truth," Kimi agrees.

"Indeed, my twig wielding friend," Takeo added.

"Just because I have the thinnest weapon _does not_ mean you can say I weird a twig. Or should I start calling you bedpost boy?" Kimi retorted.

"Naw, I prefer to call my lance 'The Pole Vault,'" Takeo responded.

"Can we just focus on getting this guy up to speed?" I asked. "Anyway, you can't actually feel pain.""Oh yeah," Klein realizes. "I did that out of reflex."

Kimi shakes her head. "I don't get paid enough to do this," she complains.

"You don't get paid at all for this," Takeo tells her.

"Exactly," Kimi responds.

"The key is you first action, remember that," I tell Klein.

"I know, but he won't stay still," he complains.

"If you get your first action right and activate a sword skill, the game system will correct your aim and ensure a hit," Kimi explains, throwing a rock and hitting it on the left side of the hip.

"Action, action…" Klein mumbles, still not getting it.

"Pause for a second, and once the skill activates, let it rip!" Takeo adds.

"Let it rip?" Klein wonders. Then a look of realization strikes. He gets into position, and I send the pig I've heard off with my sword since Kimi hit it with a rock straight at Klein. With his skill activated, he charges at the boar and slices through. It's HP goes down to zero and it explodes into blue fragments.

"Congrats," I tell Klein as he high fives Takeo.

"Unfortunately, he was a low-level mob, like slimes. One of the most basic enemies in the game," Kimi tells him, being a kill-joy.

"Wha-?! You kidding me? I thought it was some sort of mini-boss…" Klein complains.

"Of course not," Takeo scoffs as more boars spawn in about 20 yards away.

"Easy to get the hang of, right?" I ask Klein.

"Yeah!" He responds. As he practices his skills he asks, "There are skills like blacksmithing and stuff, right?"

"Supposedly there's an unlimited number of them, but none of them are magic based. That would make the game too easy," Takeo answers.

"Okay, if we're done here, let's move on to a different area," Kimi suggests.

"Yeah!" The rest of us shout.

* * *

So how did you like it! My first story, so sorry if it's bad! It will follow the anime, with a few changes because of Kimi and Takeo.

Nintendosenpai303 is beta-ing this, so visit her page!

Also, if you have good nicknames for me, leave a comment!

Follow, favorite, and review!

Lazyfangirl


	2. The World of Swords pt2

Chapter 2

Kirito POV

We practiced until sunset, with Takeo, Kimi and I gaining two levels and Klein gaining one.

"This place never ceases to amaze me. I still can't believe that it's all a game. Puts me at a loss for words..." Klein tells us.

"This is your first time playing a Full Dive game?" Takeo asks.

"I got the hardware just because of SAO," Klein confesses. "Pretty fortunate I got a copy, since only ten thousand were sold. You guys are luckier, 'cause you're beta-testers."

"Guess so," I respond.

"How about we get back to killing mobs?" Takeo asks.

"I would, but I got a pizza coming to my house in real life at 5:30, so I gotta go," Klein tells us. "I'll log back in after I eat. But I'm meeting up with some friends from another game later. Wanna meet them?" Klein asks.

"No thank you," Kimi replies under her breath, but Klein doesn't hear her.

"Well, I gotta go, my pizza will be arriving soon. I'll pay you guys back in this world at some point!" Klein tells us before opening his menu.

"Wait, do you log out in a different way than a logout button?" Klein asks, confused.

"Come on, it's at the bottom of the main menu…" Kimi starts, opening her menu. "... It really isn't there."

"Is there another way to logout?" Klein asks.

"No. This isn't a very funny joke. YO GAMEMAKERS OR WHATEVER! YOU CAN LET US OUT NOW!" Takeo shouts at the ceiling above us. Of course, there was no reply.

"Huh. That's weird-"

Just then, a bell tolls, and a flash of blue light seared my vision. When the after image fades, I survey my surroundings. We are all in the Town of Beginnings, the very same place I was in earlier.

"A forced teleport?" Kimi wonders aloud.

"We have been summoned," Takeo noted, this time, however, there isn't even the slightest hint of humor in his voice.

Every player seems to be here, all wondering what's going on. The chatter is endless until someone points out the reg hexagon in the sky with a yelp. Suddenly, more and more fold off of the first hexagon, until the whole bottom of the second floor is blanketed in the magenta. All of the trees and buildings shone with an eerie crimson glow. Gasps emerge from the crowd as red liquid oozes from in between the cracks.

"Aaand they sky is bleeding," Takeo says in disbelief.

The "sky blood" forms into a person with red and yellow robes, covering the person's legs and face, leaving only their gloved hands to be seen.

"Welcome to my world, players," the figure tells us. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko."

That gets gasps from almost everyone, then they all start to murmur amongst themselves.

"I'm the only person who can control this world. I'm sure most of you noticed the logout button is no longer on the main menu. This is not a mistake, but a feature of Sword Art Online."

"What the hell?" Takeo asks, confused.

"You cannot leave this game, and it anyone tries to remove the NerveGear from your head, microwave radiation will be emitted from the gear, frying the player's brain and ending their life." Kayaba says all the this calmly while players scream in outrage.

"That can't be done, right?" Klein asks.

"Technically, it can," Kimi answers.

"But if we cut the power.." Klein tries.

"No, the NerveGear has an internal battery," Takeo replies, cutting Klein off.

"Some players family and friends ignored this warning," Kayaba tells us. "Because of this, 213 players retire from this world and the real one."

"I can't believe this…" I say, and as I do news reports come in with the same thing that Kayaba said.

"I would like you all to know that all methods of revival will no longer function, so if you HP hits zero, your avatar will be lost for eternity and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

More yelling ensued, but this time accompanied by wails of terror. Kimi sank to her knees, hugging herself. Takeo put his hand on one of her shoulders, letting her know that he was there, that she wasn't alone.

Clenching my hands together, I thought of all the time Takeo, Kimi, and I lost all our HP during the beta-test. We would simply reappear at the Black Iron Palace, laughing about how realistic the death was. Now it was actually reality.

"The one condition you must meet to be set free is clearing all one hundred levels of Aincrad, with the final boss being on the top floor."

"How the hell can we do _that_?" Klein cried, outraged.

"Lastly, I put a present in your item storages. Take a look."

I opened my item menu and read the title of the item.

"A mirror?" I mumble, taking it out to have a look. Just then, everyone was surrounded in a light blue light.

"You okay Kirito?" Klein asks.

"Yeah…" I respond, turning to him. But I get a surprise. He's wearing the same outfit, but his hair is red and shorter, with a stubble beard of black. He was 5'8"

I look in the mirror and see that I had shorter black hair and grey eyes. And I'm now 5'6"

"I look like I do in real life!" I whisper, shocked

I turn to Kimi and Takeo to see their new looks.

Kimi's hair is now a dark brown, with sapphire blue eyes. She's 5'5", and she still seemed shocked.

Takeo changed the most, though. He has straight, amber instead of white, and his eyes are about the same color as Kimi's dress, a bright emerald green. He's taller than me, coming in at around 5'7"

Glancing around, I realize people gave themselves a few more inches of height than their original size. The ratio of men to women had also changed dramatically.

"That must have been for all those guys who like to play as girls," Takeo jokes, attempting to lighten the mood.

"But how…?" Kimi trails off.

"That full body calibration. I thought it was just to make it easier to function your character… and the NerveGear did a facial scan..." I remember, thinking back.

"Dammit, you're right," Klein comments, worry filling his eyes. He was now 5'7".

"To make it more realistic, he changed our avatars to look just like us in real life," Kimi concludes.

"But how?" Klein wonders.

"The calibration process," I respond. "It probably got out height and weight from that."

"And it did that face scan that's just creepy," Takeo adds.

"Why is this happening? Klein asks.

I point to Kayaba. "He'll tell us soon."

"You're all probably wondering why I, Kayaba Akihiko, would do such a thing. I've already achieved my goal, creating Sword Art Online for my personal enjoyment. Now that the preparations are complete, this concludes the tutorial for the official launch of Sword Art Online. I wish all you players the best of luck."

Kayaba glitches out, and the sky returns to the normal evening. Everyone is dead silent for a minute before the hysterics start. The barrier keeping us in dissipates, so I drag Takeo, Kimi, and Klein out onto a backstreet.

"I'll be heading over to the next town as soon as possible because most people are probably going to try to grind here. Anyone want to come with me?"

"Of course I will! I fight for my friends!" Takeo agrees and beside him, Kimi nods with a determined look on her face.

"I bought the game with friends from another game," Klein tells us. "I can't abandon them, so I'm gonna go back to the town center and look for them. See ya guys around."

With that Klein ran off.

"And then there were three…" Kimi mumbles.

"Well, let's go! Adventure awaits!" Takeo shouts, bringing us into a better mood instantly. We then sprint to the next town, the place that would help us survive. Any mobs that appeared in our way were disposed of with a flick of a wrist and a flash of a blade.


	3. Beaters

Chapter 3

Kimi POV

It had been a month since Kayaba dropped the bomb that SAO was a death trap. Technically, it still is. Even though all this time has passed,we haven't beaten the first floor boss, or even found the boss room. Kirito, Takeo, and I were now level twenty-five, and we were not going to grow any more levels on this floor very quickly.

Takeo found out a meeting was being held in the amphitheater having to do with the floor boss, so we decided to go. With 2000 people dead, I think that this was long overdue.

"Welcome to the party peoples," Takeo said, even though we're were the last group that filed in. "Complete with boss tips, and HP potion chugging challenges! Who's first?"

Takeo was able to release some of the tension that threatened to crush the air out of the room. A few people even laughed, but only a little.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the floor boss pow-wow! I'm Diabel, and I thank those who responded to my message and came!" The male on stage called out.

He bore a teal tunic, the right side going down to his knee bordered in yellow. His one-handed sword saw strapped to his side, shield on his back. His aquamarine hair and eyes were the same color as his tunic. I didn't think that color was possible.

"My party discovered the boss room on the highest level of the floor!"

The labyrinths to the boss room are towers because each floor is above the other.

"If we clear this floor, we'll show everyone this game can be cleared. It's our responsibility! Are you with me!" Diabel shouts.

With that everyone starts clapping, including me. Kirito sits there smiling and Takeo whoops loudly, "We are the chosen ones! All remaining players are fated to uphold this great honor, and beat the unbeatable death game! Let The 75th Hunger Games commence!"

"Now for the battle strategy, we'll be making parties of six!" Diabel rushes excitedly, completely ignoring Takeo's outburst, who then feigns looking wounded. Everyone around us gathers into groups, and Kirito, Takeo, and I look at each other and nod. We'll work together with a few other people.

Right as we agree, a girl in a red cloak covering her face scoots over to us.

"May I join your party? I don't have anyone to party with so.."

"Sure," I answer her as Kirito sends her a party request and she accepts.

"But you have to be the new Shady Figure, if that's okay?" Takeo asked.

Without giving the new girl, Asuna, anytime to answer, Diabel starts up again.

"You guys done partying up? Great! Now-"

"Hold up!" A new voice shouts. The man comes bounding down the stairs and skids onto the stage. He's wearing brown boots strapped to his legs with grey cloth, Loose fitting bangs and a brown and beige patched tunic. His orange hair was spiked in the most random of places, and his brown eyes were nearly blazing with loathing.

"The name's Kibaou, and I need to get something off my chest. I'm positive some of the people around us should apologize for those who've died."

Takeo looks at Kibao, confusion covering his face. I'm sure that I look amused.

"You're referring to the beta-testers, right?" Diabel asks.

"Of course! Kibaou responds, getting into his little rant. "When this started, they abandoned us beginners and prioritized themselves over others! The beta testers here should kneel in apology and hand over their items!"

Everyone looked on in silence. Well, almost everyone.

"Well, excuuuse me, but the betas created that nifty little guidebook you've got in you're inventories," Takeo jumps in, but not giving away that we were beta-testers.

"And they were distributed to everyone," a man wearing black shoes, dark brown pants, and a dark brown vest said. His battle axe was strapped to his back. "So why don't you shut up and sit with me? Then we can get through the meeting. I'm Agil, by the way."

Once the two of them sit down, Diabel continues. "The guidebook has some stuff on the boss. Called Kobold Lord, it has little Ruin Kobold Sentinels that fight with him. He has an axe and a buckler, and when the last of his four health bars turns red, he switches to a curved sword called a talwar and his attack patterns change. Concerning loot distribution, what you get you keep, money is already divided, and the EXP goes to the party that lands the last hit. That ok?"

Mumbles of agreement spread throughout the amphitheater

"Alright. We leave at ten tomorrow morning. Dismissed!" With that everyone leaves the theater.

When dusk fell, Takeo, Kirito, and I were sitting outside on the edge of a raised flower bed surrounded with brick. Near us, I notice Asuna eating a piece of bread.

"Here, Kirito. Give her this," I whisper to him and hand him a jar. He takes it and walks over to where Asuna is sitting.

As Takeo and I walk away, my mouth turns up slightly in a smirk.

"Do you think Kirito knows that he likes her yet?" Takeo asks.

"Nope," I respond.

On the way to the boss room, we review the plan.

"Me and Kirito will go in for the attack first. Then Asuna will switch with Kirito and Kimi will switch with me."

"Switch?" Asuna wonders aloud.

"Is this your first time in a party?" Kirito asks. Asuna's silence is all that we need to know. Kirito slumps his shoulders, Takeo shakes his head in disbelief, and I just give a long, exasperated, sigh.

"Listen up everyone," Diabel gets our attention, standing in front of a pair of wooden double doors with diamond pattern running through the center of each. "I have one thing to say. Let's win!"

"Guys, just hit it till it dies!" Takeo calls out, trying to lessen the stress that had built up again. It works because there are a few small laughs, so I don't hit him for it.

Diabel places his hands in the center of the door, then pushes. It swings inward into a darkened room. The group was stepping carefully into the room with weapons drawn. The room simmers to life, going rainbow-like as the Kobold Lord leaps at us, wielding the weapons stated in the guidebook. I just don't expect a red lizard-thing with a purple diaper and a blue tattoo over a fat belly. Oh well, you get what you get.

The three Ruin Kobold Sentinels, or as Takeo nicknamed them Koboldites, spawned in and the fight started. You could hear the yells off igniters and the clashing of weapons. As a Koboldite jumped at us, Kirito and Takeo blocked it and pushed back.

"Switch!" The boys yelled at the same time as Asuna and I came running in. Using our rapiers, we stab the Koboldite multiple times, me being a little faster. It shattered into blueish crystal fragments and disappeared.

"Good job," I hear Kirito murmur. Another Koboldite tried to jump Asuna and I, but Kirito and Takeo killed it with a horizontal slash each.

In what seemed like a few seconds and forever, the HP on the Kobold Lord had gone down to the red on the fourth bar, meaning that it would switch weapons.

"Just like the guidebook!" The doubter, Kibaou, exclaims.

"Hold! Let me get it!" Diabel shouts, running forward. As he readies a sword skill, the Kobold Lord draws the new weapon and…

"Watch out!" Takeo calls.

On closer inspection I shout, "That's not a talwar! It's a nodachi!"

"Jump back as far as you can!" Kirito joins in.

But either Diabel ignores us or doesn't hear, because he charges in. The Kobold Lord jumps and pushes off one of the pillars. With one slash, Diabel goes flying.

"No!" Takeo shouts, rushing over with Kirito and I hot on his heels. The rest of the group try their best to fend off the boss.

"Why did you go alone you idiot!" I say angrily to Diabel.

"You guys were beta testers, right! You know…"

"The rare item that comes with the last three attack bonuses…" Takeo finishes.

"You were a beta tester too?" Kirito questions, though the question is already answered.

Diabel just smiles and tells us, "Please… Defeat… Defeat the boss.. For everyone." Then he shimmers and explodes into the blueish crystal shards. The edges shine aquamarine, just like Diabel's hair.

The room stares in shock as the three of us get up. I don't know how the boys looked, but there was pure rage on my face.

I charged at the Kobold Lord, giving it a good jab in the stomach.

"Switch!" I shouted as Takeo runs up and slashes at the stomach with his lance.

"Switch!" He calls out desperately as Kirito comes in and lands the final blow. There's one final "Gawaar!" as the first floor boss disintegrates into a thousand tiny green-blue polygons.

The word "Congratulations!" Hung in the air as everybody cheered. Kirito, Takeo, and I just collapsed onto the floor in a heap. The box in front of me said "You have received one of the last three attacking bonuses!"

"Good work," was said to the three of us as we turned to see Agil standing there with Asuna, and having lost her cloak, standing there, her amber hair is showing, waist length and with the front pulled back.

"Congrats," Agil told us, and the room starts into a small applause. I give a small smile, still hurt over Diabel's death.

"Why'd you let Diabel-han die?" Kibaou calls out fighting of tears as the room falls silent.

"Let him die?" Takeo asks, genuinely confused.

"Exactly!" He shouts back. "You knew the boss's moves! If you told us before, Diabel wouldn't have died!"

"Just because we know the difference between a talwar and a nodachi doesn't mean we let him die." I try to reason, but no one listens.

"They must have been beta testers!" A voice called out.

The group started to look around like there was more, ready to call each other out. This was bad.

I hear Kirito swallow next to me, then laughs.

"A beta tester?" He asks, rising. "Don't put me in the same category as those newbies."

"W-what?" Kibaou murmurs.

Takeo and I soon catch on and get up too.

"The majority of SAO's one thousand beta testers were amateurs who didn't know how to level. Even you guys are better than them." I add.

"We aren't like them," Takeo continues. "Because during the beta test, we reached floors nobody else could. We knew the attack patterns because we fought many monsters with a similar attack pattern on floors far above this one."

"We know a lot more than that, too. More than any information broker," I finish.

"Forget about being a beta tester! That's cheating! You guys are… Beaters!" Kibaou says.

"'Beater'... Like the name." Takeo calls. That's when we put on the prizes of getting the last three hits. All were coats with collars going to the nape of our necks.

Mine is a deep magenta at the bottom, fading upward into an orange by the time you get to the collar. The sleeves come down to my elbows, edge of the coat brushing my mid thigh, and small yellow gemstones line the bottom. The Coat of Dawn.

Takeo's is dark blue, which fades into purple just at the edge of the jacket, which swishes at the back of his knees. Short sleeved, a silver zipper runs up the right side. The Coat of Dusk.

Lastly, Kirito. It was a black with grey on the shoulders and the area around it with a black collar. It drops down to his ankles, sleeves coming to the wrist. The Coat of Midnight.

We all smirk, with me on the left, Kirito in the middle, and Takeo on the right, looking over our shoulders.

As we start walking up the stairs, Asuna calls out, "Wait." We all stop. "You can be strong, so if a trustworthy person ever invites you into their guild, don't turn them down. Solo players have limits," Kirito tells her when she doesn't say anything.

"You're not better than us!" An unknown voice shouts from the crowd.

"Our badass coats beg to differ," Takeo shoots back in good humor.

The last of the fearful energy from the boss fight dissipates with a laugh as the voice says, "Dammit. He got us there."

We reach the final step as Kirito dissolves our previous party for the boss. The door in front of us swings wide, and we step onto a new floor.

#LineBreak!

Sorry it took so long for the chapter to come out! I had a busy summer and start of school! Wondering why I changed my name? I'm born in this season, so I thought it was fitting! If you have anything to say, please review or PM me! Good times to everyone! Peace out!


	4. Black Cats and Black History

Chapter 4

 _Takeo POV_

 _April 8th 2023_

 _11th floor_

"Here's to us, the Black Cats of the Full Moon! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"And here's to Kirito-san, Takeo-san, and Kimi-chan, our saviors! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Ch-cheers…" Kirito murmurs while Kimi just sits quietly, sipping her drink.

"Aww, come on you two! So we joined a guild. What's the worst that could happen?" I whisper to the two of them. Those two sure are stoic. Our stealth and listening stats were high enough that no one else could hear our conversation.

"I dunno, how about them finding out that we're beaters," Kimi replies, almost silent. When we joined the group, we said that we were level 23 instead of 40. We had renounced wearing our coats everywhere, and simply wearing our base outfits with iron chest plates.

"Thanks, I was so scared," the only girl, Sachi, murmured, her voice soft and quiet, even without her using the whisper feature.

"It's no problem," Kimi insisted, setting her drink down on the table.

"We have to watch out for each other. No game, no life, right?" Takeo chuckled.

That got a laugh out of the eight of them.

"The crew and I are all part of our schools PC Research Cub," Keita boasts.

"It we really hit it off," Gary, the one in yellow added, with Tetsuro, the tall one, nodding.

"So we decided to play SAO together!" Sasamori finished. "By the way, did you know that brown is a manly color?" He was wearing all brown, from head to toe. Even his eyes and hair were the color.

"Anyway, didn't Keita have a question?" Kimi asked, changing the subject.

"That's right! Now that you joined our guild, can you, Kirito, help Sachi out with her sword/shield combat?" Keita asks.

"Sure," Kirito responds. "See you tomorrow."

Kirito, Sachi, Kimi, and I went upstairs. The girls went into the room on the right, and us boys went into the room on the left.

As each of us got into bed, I get an idea of something to tease Kirito about.

"So… You and Sachi, huh."

"TAKEO!"

* * *

 _20th floor_

We were facing a giant grasshopper, eyes glowing red. Sachi, Kirito, Kimi, and Sasamori stood ready in front, with Gary, Tetsuro, Keita, and I backing them up from behind.

Keita stabbed the monster with his lance, and it's claw swiped down, hitting Sachi's shield. She whimpered and brought the shield up higher.

"Step back Sachi!" Kirito called, and Sachi hastily obeyed. The claw that was bearing down got cut off by Kirito's sword, shattering. Kirito blocked the other, calling on Tetsuro to land the final blow with his hammer. It shrieked, high pitched and loud, then shattered into green shards. However, that wasn't what we were excited about. Tetsuro had leveled up.

"Level 23 yo!" He called, hands in fists raised high above his head and a big grin on his face.

"What are you going to your stat points in?" I ask him, giving him a round of applause.

Afterwards, we all sat in some ruins eating the lunch that Kimi had made. It wasn't the best, but she was working on her cooking skill and everyone supported her. Besides, teasing her wouldn't get you anywhere, except on her bad side. Which is not a side you want to be on, let me tell you.

Kirito and Keita were conversing about the clearing group, who had just reached floor 28. Kimi and Sachi were talking girl stuff, with Sachi giving the occasional giggle. I'm sure even if I did know what they were saying, I wouldn't get the half of it.

I was bored out of my mind, which isn't good. I'd start thinking about other things. Memories that I'd been trying to avoid thinking about. So, Gary and I jumped on Kirito and Keita respectively. Garry put Keita in a headlock, and I started giving Kirito a noogie.

"We gonna be like the Divine Dragon Alliance and the Knights of Blood?" Tetsuro teased.

"I don't see why not," Kimi responded. "Just hit level 30, you'll probably be good."

"Whaaaaaaaat!" They shouted, and Kimi giggled behind her hand, Kirito gave a small smile, and I fell to the ground, laughing.

* * *

 _October 20th, 2023_

Everyone met up in Kimi and Sachi's inn room to hear Keita's announcement.

"We finally have 500,000 col!"

Everyone cheered. It had been their dream to buy a house for the guild, and they finally had enough money. When they had collected the col, Kimi, Kirito, and I all added a bit from our personal stash to help them, and I was happy to help. Kind of like a guild contribution in a different RPG.

"The leftover money can be used to buy new gear! So, I was wondering who wants to go with me?" Keita explained.

"I'll go," Kimi offered. "I can see the best deals and make sure that we get what is needed. The boys and Sachi can entertain themselves without me for a day, right?" As she asked the question, Kimi sent Kirito and I a glare.

I shrugged. "I guess. Not that you're much entertainment when you are around. You're too high strung," I commented. A few seconds later, I had a glowing fist shaped mark on my shoulder.

Next morning, we see Keita and Kimi were off. With a wave, Kimi shouts "Floor 22!" And they disappear in a glimmer of blue light.

"So excited to finally have a guild house!" Sasamori exclaimed.

"How about we go make some cash?" Tetsuro asked the group.

"Oh, to personalize our room?" Sachi responds. Keita and Sachi are buying a mostly furnished house, so all we had to do is personalize our part of the room.

"How about going to one of the upper dungeons?" Gary questioned.

"But why, aren't we good with our usual hunting spots?" Kirito wonders aloud as everyone turns to him.

"But it'll be more efficient, and we should be fine at our level," Gary argues.

"If you say so…" I add doubtfully.

We go to the dungeon of the 27 floor, all the mobs that we have gone through were pretty easy.

"See, no prob! We might make it to the front lines soon!" Sasamori brags. Just then, Gary sees something on the wall, he touches it, and a new room opens up.

"Weird, it doesn't show up on the map…" I think.

"A treasure chest!" Gary exclaimed racing over to it with everyone hot on his heels.

"Wait!" Kirito yells, but it's too late. The usually blue room flashes to an angry red as a warning siren blares around us. The door we entered through vanishes, locking us inside. In a split second we're surrounded by a mob of high level monsters.

"Teleport: Taft!" Gary yells in vain.

"Th-the cr-crystals aren't w-working," Sachi studders.

"An anti-crystal area?" I ask just as the mobs start closing in. Suddenly, my HP bar jumps down a little. The real problem is that I've been paralyzed. I watch as member after member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon was stabbed or beaten. A flurry of weapons and the crunch of contact could be seen and heard from every direction.

Kirito had gone mad, hacking and slashing, trying to save us all. He was no longer concealing his level from anyone.

Sachi was trying her best with a spear, and I finally broke free of my paralysis. As Sachi turned to fend off a monster, one rapidly approached her from behind. We sprint towards her, agility skills stretching to the limit, wishing Kimi were there. She was the fastest out of all of us. She could have made it in time.

The mob swung a thick, merciless, stone hand, and slammed into her back. I stared, grief and horror becoming plain on both me and Kirito's faces as we watched the last of Sachi's health trickled away.

Sachi seemed shocked at first, but then she looked at us and gave a calm, almost peaceful smile.

"It's not either of you guys's fault," she whispered, before glowing turquoise and shattering into a million shards.

In that moment, the two of us cracked simultaneously alongside Sachi's splintering remains. Rage tinted the edge of my vision red, and all hell broke loose as me and Kirito decimated all the remaining foes. Judging by his enraged yelling and choice words, he was experiencing the same feelings I was. Hurt, anger, and maybe a little fear. Though strongest of all, was pure, raw malice.

As the door that we entered through opened, I only had one thing to say.

"Crap. Kimi will have our heads when we tell her about this."

* * *

Smack! Smack! Me and Kirito's heads were now glowing a reddish color on the side.

"The hell did you think you were doing, going onto the 27th floor! The front liners think the dungeon is dangerous and you grind there! And entering an unmapped room and opening the chest inside! Have you lost your minds!" Kimi screamed at us. She met us at the meeting spot, at the edge of the 20th floor, at sunset. Even the wind blowing from the void below us couldn't drown out her shouts.

Kirito tried to reason with her. "I'm sorry-" "Sorry doesn't cut it." A cold voice cut in. We all turned to see Keita at the railing. "Why did you let them die? You must not have cared, being Beaters," Keita spats.

For once, I can't brush of harsh words like it's no big deal. I felt betrayed by the rest of the players. People should be grateful that we're here.

"So what if some of us are selfish. Where do you think that instruction manual came from? Who do you think is leading the front lines? Give us a little credit! We're not the bad guys here!" I argued, my voice reaching a shout by the time I was done.

Keita was beyond reasoning with now. He opened up the trade menu and imported some items to Kimi's inventory. "Take the money and the house. I don't need it where I'm going," he growled.

As Kimi accepts the items, shocked, as Keita disbands the Black Cats of the Full Moon, and pulls out a teleport crystal.

"When I see you again, I'll be so strong that nothing and no one can conquer me. Teleport: Town of Beginnings!" He glows and disappears

We all gape for a minute. "Hey guys? Why don't we create a guild?" Kimi asks abruptly, breaking the silence.

"We all party together most of the time anyway, so I don't see why not," Kirito responds.

"We should be called the 3 Musketeers, because there are three of us and we're all badass," I offer, my usual jokes sliding in at the end.

"Alright!" Kimi agrees, and she leads us to the house of the 3 Musketeers.

* * *

 _December 24th, 2023_

 _49th Floor_

Today's Christmas Eve, and at midnight tonight, Nicholas the Renegade is supposed to drop an item that can revive players. No one knows where he is supposed to spawn, only that it's at a fir tree. Kirito says he knows where it is, and so our Christmas present to him is to let him defeat the mob without our help, as long as he doesn't hit the red zone.

With Kirito out doing the quest, Kimi and I are alone together. Not that this was uncommon. Kimi wanted to get some books for her empty bookshelf with her Christmas money. She got a few cookbooks to help raise her cooking stat and some personal books to read: the 5th Wave, Mortal Instruments, and Infernal Devices series. With the extra money, she bought some clothes.

With my Christmas money, I bought the Percy Jackson series, Legend of Zelda manga series, and the Harry Potter series. I also bought a few clothes.

Walking through town, we enter the square where music is playing. Partners twirled around the square to the music.

"Stay right here while I change," Kimi commands as she walks towards the area for girls to change before dancing. I look down at my clothes. I was wearing black boots, black pants with a white shirt and red suit jacket. "I hope I look okay," I murmur.

"I'm back," Kimi says and I turn to greet her, but stop midway. She's wearing a red dress with long sleeves that comes down to her knees, lined with white lace. Black flats adorn her feet, chocolate hair in an elegant bun on her head, and blue eyes shining.

"May I have this dance?" I ask, my hand reaching out to her.

"You may," she responds, sliding her hand in mine. We glide across the snow for a few minutes, in a comfortable silence.

"Kimi… Do you ever wonder why I joke all the time?" I ask tentatively.

"On occasion, yes. Why do you ask? You're suddenly so serious," She questions me.

I gently drop her hands back to her sides. "Let's talk about this someplace else."

A few moments later, me and Kimi sit side by side on a bench that overlooks the town, which glows softly with yellow Christmas lights. Just behinds us shimmers the safe zone barrier.

"I'd like to tell you how I became a beater, if it doesn't bother you to listen to my babble," I say with a wry smile.

"Go on," she encourages me.

"My mother and father… First off they're both crazy, stupid rich. The main reason they married each other was to keep the money flowing. However, eventually, that wasn't enough to keep them together," I find myself saying everything. "If you're the son of two parents getting a divorce, it's like you get ten birthdays. Whenever I said, 'That looks cool,' I was immediately told that I could have it. The NerveGear included," I continued. "My parents bidded for it, and one of the early 1,000 copies of the game. They fought a lot, even when they were in a good mood. So I thought that if I couldn't truly smile, I'd be the one to make sure other people did," I admit. Kimi keeps her ears open, and doesn't speak a word as I explain to her. "That's why I'm always ready with a smile or a joke. I at least want the people around me to enjoy their own lives."

For once, Kimi looks genuinely impressed and proud of me, and gently wraps her arms around my shoulders. "Takeo, I admire your inner strength. You needn't worry about others so much, me especially. You being a friend of mine is perfect enough," she murmurs. I return her embrace gratefully. I knew there was someone I was smiling the brightest for. Perhaps Kimi was the one.

* * *

So, Takeo has a crap life outside the game, but rich. Hope that explains more on Takeo. Keita is alive but full of hatred for them. And the 3 Musketeers is now a guild! Like the new cover? It's the guild symbol! Nintendosenpai303 drew it for me! Go check out her stories too, they're the best! Anyway, on the day I post this chapter, it will be my birthday! Please review, they'll be my presents! Good times to everyone, and peace out!


End file.
